HP’s Pavillion line, after suffering from the same old design for the past two years, is finally getting a new look - albeit not an extreme makeover. The HP Pavilion dv5t is one of the new models that received the interior chrome treatment. The outside of the dv5t still looks very much like its predecessors and it still weighs a hefty 6.3 pounds. The inside features a bright metallic trim over the keyboard, palm-rest area, and touchpad. The chrome provided enough smoothness to give a pleasant typing experience. The 15.4-inch widescreen is “frameless,” thanks to the glossy treatment that extends past the viewing area and into the black edges. It comes with a bevy of ports, including four USB ports - one of which is an eSATA/USB combo port, a FireWire port, and a 5-in-1 card reader. Comparing scores with other 15-inch notebooks, the reviewer noted that Apple 15-inch (Penryn) turned in better scores in CineBench R10 as well as video encoding. The SYSmark score of the dv5t surpassed those of the Dell Studio 15 and the Apple 15-inch (Penryn). Battery life is excellent due to the 12-cell battery that comes with the unit. Overall, the slightly fresh design and the lengthy battery life make the HP Pavilion dv5t one of the better 15-inch notebooks in the market.

With their design that’s been virtually copied and rehashed by other laptop companies, HP decided to give the latest HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook a whole new, fresh perspective. It comes in onyx and chrome with a grid pattern from the lid to the keyboard deck, giving it a unified liquid metallic look. It features the standard as well as some non-standard ports such an HDMI, eSATA, and a 54mm ExpressCard slot. It has a 15.4-inch frameless widescreen display giving it a crisp, clean look. The reviewer noted that it carried a lot of glare, though it has excellent horizontal and vertical viewing angles. The Altec Lansing speakers worked impressively with the display, providing enough volume to fill a room. It comes with new protection features such as an accelerometer that stops the 250GB drive in case the notebook goes on freefall. The eSATA port gives your files the security of fast backups. Graphic benchmarks showed numbers that meant easy 3D gaming. And since its powered by the Intel’s Centrino 2 mobile technology, expect great benchmarks score. Clearly, the HP Pavilion dv5t is a great sequel to its older brother, the dv6500t.